


The Light and The Heat

by dragonydreams



Category: DC's Legends of Tomorrow (TV), The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, DCTV Secret Santa, Frottage, M/M, coldwave
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-15
Updated: 2018-12-15
Packaged: 2019-09-19 13:19:13
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,628
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17002398
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dragonydreams/pseuds/dragonydreams
Summary: There was something familiar about Mick that Len couldn't pinpoint, and that fact kept drawing him back here - to the coffee shop and the chair.





	The Light and The Heat

**Author's Note:**

  * For [SophiaCatherine](https://archiveofourown.org/users/SophiaCatherine/gifts).



> Disclaimer: I claim no ownership over these characters. I am merely borrowing them from Berlanti Productions, DC Entertainment, and Warner Bros. Television.
> 
> Betas: Thank you to my regular betas for looking this over for me. You know who you are.
> 
> Author's Note: This is my DCTV Secret Santa gift for @sophiainspace who asked for 1) anything coldwave (especially young coldwave e.g. in their 20s) and/or 2) fluffy coffee shop AU. I'm sure you won't mind that I managed to include both. Enjoy!
> 
> Author's Note 2: Title from "In Your Eyes" by Peter Gabriel.

Len's pace quickened as he approached his destination, one hand on the strap of his messenger bag, keeping it tight against his body, as he rushed down the busy street just off campus, cursing how far away he'd had to park his car.

He wasn't late… technically. It wasn't like he had an appointment or class that he was trying to get to. No, this was a far more important destination he was aiming for. 

He pulled the door open, cursing the jangle of the bell on the door for announcing his self-imposed tardiness, and paused in the entryway. He let out a sigh of relief when he saw that his chair was available. He strode quickly over to it and dropped his bag onto the worn leather before turning to the counter.

Monday, Wednesday, and Friday afternoons this was _his_ chair. Ever since he'd discovered that Elemental Coffee served the best hot cocoa and was on his way from campus to Lisa's high school. 

Len approached the counter and found his order waiting for him. As usual.

"Want me to freshen that up?" the burly man behind the counter asked. "You're late."

Len picked the mug up off the counter, mini marshmallows melting slightly in the still hot, but no longer steaming, liquid. 

"Nah, this is perfect," Len said, after taking a sip. "How'd you know?"

Mick grunted. "Could set my clock by your schedule."

Len dipped his face to his mug to avoid the blush he could feel creeping up his neck. "Thanks," he muttered as he paid and left a healthy tip in the tip jar before returning to his chair with his drink and a blueberry scone.

His chair had a perfect view of the counter, and, more importantly, the man behind the counter. The perfect study distraction for Len. 

Mick was a mystery that Len had been trying to solve for months now. Without, you know, actually talking to him more than to give his order and other small talk.

There was something familiar about Mick that Len couldn't pinpoint, and that fact kept drawing him back here - to the shop and the chair.

After settling himself in the chair, drink and snack safe on the small table beside him, Len drew out his textbook and notepad and tried to focus on the chapters assigned in today's engineering class. Every few paragraphs, Len felt his eyes being drawn up to look at the man behind the counter. 

Mick wasn't the kind of man he was usually attracted to, which only added to the mystery. His past male lovers had all been lean, like himself, where Mick was broad-shouldered with a shaved head. Definitely the kind of man you'd expect to find at a biker bar instead of behind the counter of a coffee shop. He was gruff, bordering on rude, to most of the customers - except with Len. 

In what felt like no time at all, Len's phone beeped, reminding him that it was time to go pick Lisa up from whatever after school activity she'd had that day. They lived far enough from the high school that he didn't want her walking home through the not-so-safe neighborhood alone. So when she couldn't get a ride from a friend, which was most days, he picked her up in their only car. 

He stowed his school materials back in the bag, shouldered it, and took his empty dishes to the bin set aside for them by the door.

"See ya Friday," Mick called out to him.

"See ya," Len called back.

~~*~~

Mick circled the counter and went to the seat Leo always occupied, wiping down the table and chair to remove stray crumbs.

It had been months now since Leo had wandered back into his life; so Mick felt like it would be rude at this point to mention their shared past if the other man didn't remember him. Not when Leo had meant so much to him in their youth. He couldn't bear it if he truly didn't remember their time together in juvie.

They'd lost touch after Leo had gotten out. While they'd been close while inside together, especially after they'd become cell mates, Leo had been determined not to follow in his father's footsteps. 

From the big text books that he was always bringing in here, it looked like he'd made good on that promise. 

He'd inspired Mick to want to lead a criminal-free life, too. It would have been so easy for him to fall into a life of crime. He would have been a great arsonist for hire. 

Instead, he'd ended up in a foster home for a few months before he turned eighteen with good foster parents. They'd insisted that he go to therapy for his pyromania - rightfully afraid that he'd set their house on fire, like he'd done to his own parents' home. He'd been resistant to the therapy at first, but eventually started listening to what the therapist was saying and actually found it helpful. He had never been much of a talker – still wasn't – but his therapist found ways to work with him anyway.

His foster parents, who let him keep living with them even after he turned eighteen and were no longer getting paid to let him live there, helped him get his GED and into community college. He took all kinds of classes, trying to find something that interested him, and in a business class he was taking he'd met Mark and Clyde Mardon, brothers who were taking the class with hopes of opening a coffee shop. 

This coffee shop. 

Mick knew he didn't have a head for business, but he enjoyed working in the kitchen and making the fancy coffee drinks. One of the girls who worked here, Kendra, loved telling everyone that she was a barista, but Mick didn't need a fancy title like that to describe his job. He made coffee, end of story.

And making coffee allowed him to be in the right place when Leo walked through the door at the beginning of the semester.

Leo had gotten taller, finally - he'd been such a small kid in juvie - and his hair was shorn short now, but Mick would have recognized those eyes anywhere.

He kept waiting for Leo to recognize him, but so far, it hadn't happened. So he didn't say anything, not wanting to embarrass the guy. 

After all, Leo had been his first crush; his first kiss. He was the first boy that he'd admitted being attracted to; and juvie was hardly the place for such admissions. He was just lucky that Leo had felt the same way. 

Only, how much could he have meant to him if he couldn't recognize the boy he'd been in the man he was now?

~~*~~

A few more weeks went by. Len kept to his routine, Mick always had his drink and a snack ready for him when he arrived, and his seat was always open. Until one day his drink was ready but no snack.

When he was about to request something, Mick said, "Bring it over to you in a minute."

Len raised an eyebrow at that, but took his drink and settled into his chair.

A few minutes later, Mick brought over a snack - a red velvet cupcake. 

Len whistled. "What'd I do to deserve a cupcake? I didn't think you sold those here."

"We don't," Mick said, staring at his boots. "Know today's an anniversary of sorts, wanted something special."

Len stared up at Mick wondering how he could possibly know. 

Mick met his eyes and the nervousness and hope was like an icicle to Len's heart. 

"Mickey?" Len whispered.

Mick set the cupcake he was still holding on the table and pulled over a chair from a nearby table and sank onto it, eyes never leaving Len's. "'Bout damn time."

"You've known who I was all this time?" Len asked. 

Mick nodded. "Could never forget those eyes."

"Why didn't you say anything?"

"Was kinda hoping you would have figured it out on your own," Mick admitted. 

"So why now?" Len asked.

"Because today's the anniversary of the first time we kissed," Mick said. "It was an important day for me, Leo."

"Me, too," Len admitted. "Although I go by Len now."

"OK, I'm just Mick now; which you already knew," he said, gesturing to his nametag.

Len grabbed Mick's hand as he lowered it, staring at the bigger man's face. 

"You've changed so much in the past decade," Len said. "I knew you felt familiar, but I couldn't figure out why. It's one reason I come here so much. I've been trying to figure you out."

"And here I thought it was for my superior hot cocoa," Mick said with a smirk.

"That, too," Len agreed. "So you went straight when you got out?"

"Well, I wouldn't exactly say _straight_..." Mick said, his voice dropping as he turned his hand over in Len's and squeezed it.

Len swallowed; hard. "That's very good to know," he drawled.

The both startled when Len's phone beeped.

Mick frowned and glanced at his watch. "Isn't that goin' off a bit early?"

"Yeah," Len looked at him apologetically as he released Mick's hand, pulling his phone out of his pocket. "Lisa's practice was a short one today." 

"Lisa… your baby sister?" Mick clarified, praying that she wasn't a girlfriend.

Len huffed out a laugh. "Now a bratty teenager, but yes, my little sister. She's been living with me full time for about a year. Can I get these to go?" He asked, nodding towards his cupcake and cocoa.

"'Course," Mick agreed, taking the items to the counter and transferring them into to-go containers. When Len approached the counter to retrieve them, Mick caught his hand. "Can I see you later tonight? Or tomorrow? Away from here?"

Len mentally ran through his calendar. He worked the afternoons and evenings he didn't come to the coffee house, but he wanted to continue his conversation with Mickey - Mick. "Yeah, tonight. Give me your phone." When Mick handed it over, Len quickly entered his contact info, then texted himself. "I'll text you later with where we can meet up. When is your shift over?"

"I get off at eight," Mick answered. 

"Perfect," Len said. "I'll see you soon."

Len gave Mick's hand a squeeze before he released it and then he rushed out the door, cocoa and cupcake in hand.

~~*~~

"So, who is he?" Lisa teased, flopping down on Len's bed as he got ready to go meet Mick.

"Nobody," Len answered quickly, knowing the answer wouldn't satisfy his nosy sister, but not wanting to try to explain Mick to her right now.

"Oooh, nobody," Lisa said knowingly. "That's why you've been staring at your closet for the past ten minutes when everything you own is either dark blue or black."

Len frowned, but couldn't disagree with her. Instead, he asked, "Is your homework done?"

"It's Friday night, what do you think?" Lisa countered. Len simply glared at her. "Almost," she grumbled.

"Finish it up while I'm out, then you won't have to worry about it over the weekend," he said.

Lisa rolled her eyes, having heard this every Friday since she'd come to live with her brother. "Yeah, yeah, I know."

Len grabbed his leather jacket off the hook by the front door and patted his pockets to make sure he had his wallet and phone. 

"You're really not gonna tell me about this guy?" Lisa wheedled.

"I will, just, not right now. I don't want to be late," Len said, grabbing his keys. "I'll try not to be home too late."

"Pfft," Lisa waved him off. "For your sake, I hope you don't come home at all tonight. It's been ages since you've gotten laid."

Len stiffened. "What makes you say that?" he demanded.

"Because I know you, brother dear, and you have been ornery as fuck for the past several months," Lisa said.

Not wanting to discuss his sex life with his little sister - especially since she was right - Len said, "I'll be home later tonight."

~~*~~

Mick picked at the label on his beer bottle as he waited for Leo. No, Len, he had to remind himself.

He'd been surprised when Len had suggested that they meet at Saints and Sinners, but he always did like a dive bar. 

"Hey, sorry I'm late," Len said, sliding into the booth across from him. "Lisa decided to start pestering me about where I was going as I was heading out."

Mick glanced at his watch. "You're not late, I just got here early."

Len signaled for a waitress and ordered his own beer before returning his attention to Mick. 

"You know, now that I know who you are, I can see the kid I knew in you," Len said. "I'm sorry that it took me so long to recognize you."

"S'okay," Mick grunted, feeling a pleasurable warmth in his chest. "So you've got custody of your sister?"

"Not exactly," he paused as the waitress dropped off his drink. "I became an emancipated minor when I was sixteen, needing to get out from under my dad's roof. But I couldn't go too far away because I didn't want to leave Lisa all alone with him. I'd been volunteering at the library since I got out of juvie and Gideon, one of the librarians, hooked me up with her friend, Rip, who owned a bookstore, and got me a job there so that I could afford a shitty apartment when I was emancipated. I still work there four days a week," Len explained.

"The days you don't come to the shop," Mick guessed.

"Yeah," Len agreed. "I got my GED early since I spent all my time around books and started studying engineering at the local college. I'm almost done with my Masters."

"You always did need to know how everything worked," Mick remembered.

"Anyway, Lewis and I worked out a sort of custody arrangement with Lisa after I tried and failed to get legal custody of her. The more time she spent at my place, the less he had to worry about feeding her. But it also meant that he no longer had anyone to take his anger out on with both of us no longer living under his roof, so he wouldn't let her go completely."

"He hit her?" Mick growled.

"Both of us, yeah," Len reluctantly admitted. "And I've got the scars to prove it."

"Want me to teach him a lesson?" Mick asked, flexing his muscles.

"Thanks, but no," Len said. "He's out of our lives now. Rip gave Lisa a job, too, and the second she was old enough, we got her emancipated and she moved in with me full time. She's seventeen now."

As he finished talking, Len let his fingers brush against Mick's. He looked at him through his eyelashes and asked, "And what have you been up to since juvie?"

Mick shifted in his seat as all his blood rushed south. He took a swig of beer, having forgotten the power that look had on him. 

"I, uh, ended up with a really good foster family. They were patient and found me a good therapist. Helped me get my GED and into community college. That's where I met the Mardon brothers, the guys who own Elemental. Best thing that came out of that stupid business class I took. When they got the funding to open the shop they brought me in to work behind the counter and in the kitchen."

"Do you mean that you make all those delicious treats you pick out for me?" Len asked, drool threatening to give away how much he enjoyed the sweets he ate at the shop.

Mick's chest puffed out a bit at the hungry look in Len's eyes. "I do," he admitted. "Turns out that I'm really good in a kitchen."

"Next time you're making me dinner," Len declared.

"I'm glad you want there to be a next time," Mick admitted. 

Mindful that they weren't in a place where they couldn't do much more than flirt, Len carefully brushed his fingers against Mick's again. 

"I'd like to show you just how much I'd like there to be a next time," Len purred.

"Wanna get out of here?" Mick suggested, breathing heavily.

"Thought you'd never ask," Len drawled. They both threw money on the table and tried not to rush out of the building. 

Mick dragged Len into the alley next to the bar and pressed him against the brick wall as his mouth slammed down on his. Len's hands fisted in Mick's open coat, dragging him closer as the kiss grew sloppy and more desperate. 

"How far's your place from here?" Len asked between kisses.

"I walked here," Mick admitted.

"Good, then we can take my car," Len said, slipping out from against the wall and dragging Mick towards his car. 

"Give me the keys. I'll drive since I know where we're goin'," Mick suggested, holding his hand out. 

Len rarely let anyone else drive his car, but he didn't hesitate to drop his keys into Mick's outstretched hand. 

Five minutes later they were stumbling into Mick's apartment, barely able to keep their hands off of each other. 

They made it as far as the couch.

Len roughly pushed Mick to sit in the center of it and straddled him, their bodies pressed as close together as possible while still wearing clothes, as their mouths found each other's again. 

Mick ran his hands over Len's close-cropped hair. "Miss being able to bury my fingers in your hair," he admitted as he left open mouthed kisses down Len's neck, biting lightly when he reached that sensitive point where shoulder and neck met.

Reaching up, Len dragged Mick's hands down to his ass. "Got something else for you to hold onto."

Mick bucked up against Len, pressing their bodies even closer together. "Fuck, I've missed you, Leo," he growled, forgetting the new name in his eagerness.

"Missed you, too, Mickey," Len said before recapturing his mouth. 

Mick's hands slid around to grasp Len's belt, but Len stopped him. "No, we're gonna come just like this," he said, rolling his hips hard against Mick. "I'm so close already, aren't you?"

"Wanna touch you," Mick huffed. "Need skin."

Hesitating only briefly, Len pulled off his shirt. Mick's eyes widened at the sheer number of scars littering Len's chest and arms, but refused to let that ruin the moment they were in. He dipped his head to take one of Len's nipples between his teeth, biting down gently. 

"Yes," Len hissed, holding Mick's head against him as he continued to roll his hips. 

Mick ran his hands down Len's equally damaged back and slipped them into his pants beneath his underwear, grabbing his bare ass and yanking him hard against him as he pressed up. 

"Shit, I'm gonna come," Mick grunted.

"Yeah, me, too," Len panted. 

Their mouths met with a clashing of teeth as they both came in their pants. 

"Fuck, I haven't done that since I was a teenager," Len said, sliding off Mick's lap to sit pressed against his side.

"Don't think I've ever done _that_ before," Mick admitted, running his fingers over Len's back.

Len shivered and reached for his shirt, pulling it back on as he got to his feet. "I hate to come and go, but I should probably get back to Lisa."

"Stay," Mick said, catching his hand. "I'm not ready to let you go yet."

Len sank back onto the couch and pressed a kiss to Mick's lips. "How can I say no to a request like that?"

"You can't," Mick answered, wrapping an arm against Len's shoulders. "We'll watch a movie and then we can talk about you leaving."

Len laughed. "So we need to talk about me leaving? I do have a teenage sister at home."

"Operative word being: teenage. She'll be fine on her own," Mick said.

"I have one condition," Leonard said, shifting in his seat. 

Mick glanced at him out of the side of his eye. "What's that?"

"Let me borrow a pair of shorts?" he requested. Nodding towards his lap, he added, "This is gonna get really uncomfortable, real fast."

Mick frowned and realized Len was right. "Yeah, good idea. C'mon." They both stood and Mick led Len to his bedroom. Mick rummaged through a drawer and pulled out two pairs of boxers. Handing one to Len, he said, "Might be a bit big on you."

"Still better than what I'm currently wearing, thanks," Len said, tearing his eyes away from the small pile of books on the nightstand. "Bathroom?"

Mick pointed to the door across the hall and Len entered the small room. He poked through cabinets until he found a washcloth and slipped out of his boots, jeans, and underwear. He cleaned himself up before pulling on Mick's boxers, a thrill running up his spine as he did so. He quickly finished dressing and rinsed out the washcloth before heading back to the living room, carrying his boots with him. 

Mick was already seated on the couch, DVD ready to play.

"So what are we watching?" Len asked, settling comfortably against Mick's side. 

"Thought this was appropriate, given the time of year," Mick said, pushing play on the remote.

"Die Hard?" Len asked as the movie started.

"Best fuckin' Christmas movie ever," Mick said. 

"Yippee-ki-yay," Len said as they settled in to watch. 

He was going to get so much shit from Lisa the next day, but Len couldn't bring himself to care. Right now, he couldn't imagine being anywhere else than right here; with Mick.

The End


End file.
